With regard to detection, current protocols using NBC detection equipment (such as M-8 paper or the ICAM) will not indicate a "positive" when samples containing botulinum toxin are tested.[citation needed] To confirm a diagnosis of botulinum toxin poisoning, therapeutically or to provide evidence in death investigations, botulinum toxin may be quantitated by immunoassay of human biological fluids; serum levels of 12–24 mouse LD50 units per milliliter have been detected in poisoned patients.[63]
It will not affect the nerves that cause sensation, or make you feel numb. When it is used correctly, it can lift the brow to give an appealing and sincere look. "But if too much is injected in the danger zone—the horizontal lines in the forehead—you can look Spocked, as in Spock from Star Trek," says Jean Carruthers, a Vancouver eye surgeon who, with her husband, Alastair, coauthored the first paper on the cosmetic benefits of Botox in 1989. That's why it's important to be treated by an experienced doctor who can judge the size of your muscles and how much Botox you will need.
Besides the three primary U.S. manufacturers, there are numerous other botulinum toxin producers. Xeomin, manufactured in Germany by Merz, is also available for both therapeutic and cosmetic use in the U.S.[67] Lanzhou Institute of Biological Products in China manufactures a BTX-A product; as of 2014 it was the only BTX-A approved in China.[67] BTX-A is also sold as Lantox and Prosigne on the global market.[68] Neuronox, a BTX-A product, was introduced by Medy-Tox Inc. of South Korea in 2009;[69]

Two double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, multi-center, 24-week clinical studies were conducted in patients with OAB with symptoms of urge urinary incontinence, urgency, and frequency (Studies OAB -1 and OAB-2). Patients needed to have at least 3 urinary urgency incontinence episodes and at least 24 micturitions in 3 days to enter the studies. A total of 1105 patients, whose symptoms had not been adequately managed with anticholinergic therapy (inadequate response or intolerable side effects), were randomized to receive either 100 Units of BOTOX (n=557), or placebo (n=548). Patients received 20 injections of study drug (5 units of BOTOX or placebo) spaced approximately 1 cm apart into the detrusor muscle.

As the only Facial Plastic Surgeon in North Texas to have Diamond status with Allergan, we have found that in today's economic environment, patients want value as well as quality. Understand that when you go to a non-physician med-spa for injectible treatments, there are more hands in the "cookie jar" diluting the price for your treatment. For example, the med-spa that is owned by a non-physician, with a nurse injector, is the hardest model to stay competitive in today's world. In that scenario, the patient is paying for the cost of the Botox; PLUS the cost of the nurse to inject the product; PLUS the fee for the medical director to sign off on the nurse doing the injections; AND the profit for the medspa. By going to a physician, the patient can cut out 2 of the middle-people. The chances of getting more product for the same price is greater by going to a doctor's office for your treatment.
Finding an experienced practitioner is particularly important if you’ve never had Botox treatments before as he or she will devise an optimal treatment plan to address your forehead wrinkles. Furthermore, with an experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon you’ll be far less likely to experience any side effects like pain, bruising around the injection site, droopy eyelids, or mistakenly be administered too much Botox, leaving your face looking frozen for the next several months.
Sharona Hoffman, professor of law and bioethics at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, says that step therapy is driven by a single motivator: saving costs. Hoffman, who’s written about the legal and ethical implications of step therapy, says that sometimes step therapy can have sensible outcomes, like pushing patients to take generics instead of brand-name drugs. But these policies can also keep doctors from prescribing the more expensive drugs of choice, forcing patients to take medications that are less effective or have worse side effects.
Much like other fillers, Botox is slowly metabolized in the system, so for it to remain effective, patients have to get the procedure every three months or so (however, as Ravitz told me during a recent visit, you can't get it done too frequently or your body will develop antibodies). I've now had four additional rounds of Botox since my initial procedure and have learned a lot about how my body reacts to it. Read on for both Ravitz's insight and information about my experience with five rounds of Botox.
Botox costs can vary anywhere from $200 to $400 or more depending on the physician, location, units purchased, desired profit margin, ongoing promotions, etc. Many doctor's offices price Botox based on cost per unit, but others price Botox injections based on the area of the injection. Whether Botox is charged by the unit or by the area might not matter that much if the Botox treatment is effective, but if you want to know exactly how much you are paying for your treatment, you need to know the number of units of Botox per treatment and the cost per unit. (An honest practice will not hesitate to give you this information if you ask.)
Botox takes three to five days to kick in, with the full effect becoming apparent within two weeks. Some people say they know when it’s taken effect because it suddenly feels like there’s duct tape on their forehead. “Botox will affect the way your facial muscles move, and it can feel funny when you can’t move your face to make a particular expression,” Dr. Shainhouse explains. “Also, sometimes injection of Botox in one area can affect another area—for example, injecting too low on the forehead to reduce wrinkles above the brows can actually end up lowering the brows, which is not always ideal. You may also experience a super-tight feeling in the beginning, before your body has time to adjust to the toxin.” These are the 50 things your surgeon won’t tell you.
In just over a decade, the number of people in the U.S. receiving cosmetic botulinum toxin type A injections--mostly from Botox but also from another brand called Dysport, which commands less than 10% of the market--exploded. From 2000 to 2015, use of the toxins for wrinkles increased 759%. It became a cultural phenomenon too, spawning Botox parties, Simpsons jokes, even greeting cards. In 2008, Sex and the City character Samantha famously quipped, "I don't really believe in marriage. Now Botox, on the other hand, that works every time."
In the mid-1990s, people who received BOTOX for other conditions reported improvement in their chronic migraine pain. A two-phase study was conducted, treating patients who averaged 20 headache days a month. They received BOTOX injections every twelve weeks for 56 weeks. At the end of that period, 70% of the patients had fewer than half the number of headaches they had before treatment. The FDA officially approved BOTOX to treat chronic migraine in October of 2010. Since then, more than 100,000 patients have been treated.
In 2016, the stock price of Tobira Pharmaceuticals stumbled on the release of the top-line data of the Phase 2b CENTAUR study of CVC therapy in NASH because the clinical trial missed its primary clinical outcome of improvement in NASH resolution without worsening of liver fibrosis. However, CVC therapy achieved its secondary clinical outcome of improvement in liver fibrosis without worsening of NASH resolution. The clinical efficacy of CVC on NASH liver fibrosis is currently being further researched in the ongoing Phase 3 AURORA clinical trial.
Overall, with the exception of Overactive Bladder (see below), clinical studies of BOTOX did not include sufficient numbers o f subjects aged 65 and over to determine whether they respond differently from younger subjects. Other reported clinical experience has not identified differences in responses between the elderly and younger patients. There were too few patients over the age of 75 to enable any comparisons. In general, dose selection for an elderly patient should be cautious, usually starting at the low end of the dosing range, reflecting the greater frequency of decreased hepatic, renal, or cardiac function, and of concomitant disease o r other drug therapy.
BOTOX® treats the symptoms of severe underarm sweating when topical medicines do not work well enough in people 18 years and older. It is not known whether BOTOX® is safe or effective for severe sweating anywhere other than your armpits. BOTOX® treatments temporarily block the chemical signals from the nerves that stimulate the sweat glands, resulting in reduced sweating.